Violence Against Women

Violence against women is a national epidemic that needs to be addressed and acted upon in order to protect and preserve our American ideals.

Dear future president,

My name is Grace and I am a sophomore in high school. I am writing to you because of the serious matter our country faces today, violence against women. I have grown up surrounded by men who respect and look at women as their equals and who are disgusted by the idead that a man could abuse or sexually assault a woman. Though unfortunately, it is not uncommon for men to look down upon women because of their gender. This has resulted in an epidemic of violence against women, which stems from the mindset that women are objects and are worth less compared to males. Action needs to be taken to decrease the amount of violence against women across the country in order to protect and preserve the ideals of the United States.

In order to complete the task of minimizing the amount of violence against women, our future leader needs to recognize that violence towards females in this country is a matter that needs to be addressed. Mr. Trump, according to the World Health Organization, “35% of women have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.” As a father of two daughters, this statistic means that there is a sixty-six percent chance that one of your girls has/or will be subjected to physical or sexual violence. Ms. Clinton, as senator you “[...]co-sponsored the 2005 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.” Although this is an amazing accomplishment and demonstrates your value of equality and respect towards the female gender, 1 in 3 women still are victims of domestic or non-domestic violence. Along with Mr. Trump, you also have a daughter who faces a thirty-five percent chance of physical or sexual violation. The impact of sexual and physical assault are immense and has taken a toll on our society by straying from the values our nation was built upon.

Action needs to be taken to decrease the amount of abuse towards women in order to preserve the fundamental ideals that this country was built upon. Mr. Trump, your campaign slogan is “Make America Great Again”, and in order to continue to stay true to your goal, it is imperative to preserve the American ideals by implicating changes in the country to fight for the equality, liberty, and inalienable rights of women. The World Health Organization states “to achieve lasting change, it is important to enact legislation and develop policies that: address discrimination against women [and] promote gender equality[...].” Not only will the pursuing of the fight on violence against women preserve the American ideals, it can also lead to the statistics of abuse towards women and rape culture lowering. Ms. Clinton, the actions you have taken throughout your political career such as “[... leading] the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, where [you] proclaimed that ‘women’s rights are human rights,’”(Clinton) have made a lasting impact on rape and abuse culture by spreading the idea that women are equal to men. Though more can always be done to enhance such mindset, for example, using and incorporating the values of our country and our morals as decent human beings to extend the message to all people that violence towards women is a serious violation of human rights. The ideals of our nation were not insinuated by the founding father for themselves alone. They have proven beneficial to the people as a whole and is evidently a possible solution to the issue the nation is at odds with, violence against women.

The epidemic of the abuse towards women has not only been damaging to the victims of this disease, but also to the reputation of this country. The longer this country turns our back on this matter, the greater the message becomes to other societies that equality, liberty, and happiness are limited and is rather a hope than a reality. Taking action on this issue begins with a strong, compassionate, and involved leader who values the ideals and citizens of this nation. To the future president, I am hopeful that your character embodies all of the the traits above and that you will be the face of the fight against violence towards women.

#2nextprez

Letters to the Next President 2.0 engaged and connected young people, aged 13-18, as they researched, wrote, and made media to voice their opinions on issues that mattered to them in the 2016 Presidential Election.

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